Official: Primary bill still excludes some voters

Brian Myszkowski

Wednesday

Jun 26, 2019 at 6:12 PMJun 26, 2019 at 6:12 PM

A new piece of legislation could open up primary elections to voters who have not aligned themselves with any political parties in Pennsylvania, but some election officials are saying that the measure does not go far enough.

Senate Bill 300, approved in a 42-8 vote in the State Senate on Tuesday, June 25, will allow unaffiliated voters the right to participate in primary elections, which traditionally have been limited to registered members of parties like the Democrats or Republicans. The bill serves as an amendment to the Pennsylvania Election Code from 1937.

The bill targets "unenrolled electors," defined as those "registered to vote within an election district having selected ‘none’ or ‘no affiliation’ in regard to a political party on their Pennsylvania voter registration application."

Such "unenrolled electors" would be able to go to the polls for primaries, select the party they wish to vote for, and for that particular election, they would be affiliated with that party. That affiliation could be changed for a subsequent primary.

State Senator Joseph B. Scarnati III (R-25) served as prime sponsor for the bill, which was introduced in February 2019 and referred to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, June 26.

State Senator Mario Scavello (R-40), who voted in favor of the legislation, said that the bill could do wonders for voter turnout, especially in the less popular election cycles.

"Turnout in our primary elections is dismal, especially in ‘off-year’ elections," Scavello said. "Opening up the primaries will franchise more voters and expand the number of voices heard on Election Day. This will add energy and vitality to our democratic process. I commend Senator Scarnati for his leadership in championing this issue."

According to a statement from the Senate Republican Communications Office, the bill’s prospective passage will give over 740,000 unaffiliated voters the opportunity to vote on either the Republican or Democratic ballot.

Nonpartisan voting education website FairVote’s primary page suggests that Senate Bill 300 would fit the description of a semi-closed primary. In semi-closed primaries, "unaffiliated voters may choose which party primary to vote in, while voters registered with a party may only vote in that party’s primary."

Monroe County voter registration director Sara May-Silfee said that while the bill will open up the primaries for those who did not select a party affiliation, those who align with smaller parties – including those such as the Libertarian Party or the Green Party – would still be effectively excluded, at least to some degree.

"I just think it’s going to be a little confusing," May-Silfee said. "If they’re registered as ‘none’ or ‘no affiliation,’ then they qualify to vote, and when they go in, they pick a party to vote for. Independents, they can’t vote."

Scavello said that people who are aligned with smaller parties can still opt to change their voter registration in order to take advantage of the bill.

"Even if you’re a member [of a party] and you want to change to ‘not affiliated’ so you can pick, you can do that," Scavello said. "But if you’re a member of a party, a Libertarian or whatever, you have to vote on that ballot."

May-Silfee said that many directors across the state shared the same opinion: the government should either go for open primaries, or just drop the issue.

"’Either make it open and allow everyone to vote, or leave it alone,’" May-Silfee read from an email thread. "’They have no clue what issues will be caused by their fly-by-night changes.’ It’s true. Open it to everybody. Why are we opening it up to just some?"

When asked if he would support future legislation for a completely open primary system – where any registered voter can vote in the primaries, regardless of their affiliation – Scavello said that he is open to the possibility.

"Let’s see what happens," Scavello said. "I don’t like to lock anyone out, but let’s see what happens. I think this [Senate Bill 300] is a step in the right direction."

But for now, the Senate bill may just add to the current frustration for registration directors: the transition to voting machines across the state. On top of that, many registration directors are questioning what other, more pressing changes should be implemented first.

"There are other things that need to be changed in the election law, that from the election director standpoint, they are things that should be simpler," May-Silfee said. "Why do you have to have an excuse for an absentee ballot?"

May-Silfee added that while the bill provides some loose guidelines for allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in primaries, lawmakers have essentially left local voter registration offices to implement the policy.

As it currently stands, those registration directors are in the dark as to how it will all work out in the end.

"We’re thinking of the confusion of determining who gets to vote and which ballot they get," May-Silfee said. "I just think it’s going to be a very confusing process. They don’t care about that. That’s on us, basically. Nobody asks for our opinion."

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